Nozzles are commonly included in various forms of commercial equipment. For example, compressors and turbines frequently include multiple stages of nozzles, also referred to as stators, that direct a working fluid onto a downstream rotating blade or bucket.
Over time, the flow of the working fluid over the nozzle may plastically deform the shape and/or profile of the nozzle, a condition also known as “creep.” For example, air flow over the nozzle may plastically deform the nozzle, causing one side of the nozzle to rotate counterclockwise and the trailing edge of the nozzle to bend in the direction of the air flow. Although visual inspections may be performed to detect excessive amounts of creep, the inventor of the present invention is not currently aware of any apparatus or method for accurately and precisely measuring creep or other plastic deformation in nozzles. Therefore, an apparatus and method for accurately and precisely measuring nozzles would be useful.